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Jesus promised us many good things, but he also warned of the sacrifice we would face as his followers and more importantly in our work as his ambassadors. As we consider how we represent Jesus as ambassadors in the workplace, we really need to consider what Jesus says about the reality of this role and take counsel from how some of the best ambassadors in the Bible handled this.
In John 15:18-20a Jesus told his disciples:
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”
The word ambassador comes from the Latin root of ambacus, meaning servant. The servant or ambassador in these verses from John is not greater than his master. If your master is Jesus, you can count on all the hatred and persecution that he experienced. But how might this hatred or persecution show up for us as we represent Christ at work by serving others?
First, let’s really think about why we are persecuted in this world—at work or in general. We are in a foreign country, ruled by the prince of the power of the air, not in the heavenly realms. More specifically, we can count on the devil trying to thwart our good efforts to serve God’s Kingdom!
1 Peter 5:8 states: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
We must be watchful and aware that this can happen at any time, and when we are feeling discouraged in our serving, we need to consider this verse.
We have all faced this, especially when we are sharing our faith with someone at work. The enemy wants to sow the seeds of self-doubt to thwart our efforts!
You have been there. People notice you are different. Maybe you are positive when it seems like you shouldn’t be. Perhaps it is how you lead and provide feedback to your team. Are you more uplifting than anyone in your office—always looking to be a mighty encourager, and coach? Are you offering help? Maybe you have even bought a coffee for someone who was having a bad day.
As ambassadors we show our faith by saying no to certain things that others engage in at work. Whether it is gossip or not attending a happy hour that seems to happen often, you may feel like you don’t fit in with your colleagues. Rest assured your absence from both gossip and even a wild happy hour honors the Lord, and you are being his servant at work by not engaging.
Are you showing up and reporting something that needs to be brought to light? Maybe it is a simple compliance issue, or it could be something more egregious like theft. This is being Christ’s ambassador.
All these actions are your faith at work 1.0—ways to be an ambassador without even telling people about your faith.
But what if someone calls you out for sitting out? How will you answer? It is easy to walk away from gossip and to reply no to an outing, but what if someone asks why? What happens if someone gets upset when you report the wrongdoing?
Or what about when someone inserts a small comment, “Gosh you are so different than everyone else here,” Or “Why are you so positive all the time?” They simply want to know about your joy!
1 Peter 3:13-17 outlines the expectation of our reply!
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
First, there is no harm in doing good and being passionate about it! But again, the reminder that we may suffer for it. And then more encouragement to have no fear and always be ready to make a defense for your actions! Better good with God than bad with the world that we truly don’t belong to any longer.
Jesus has equipped us for every good work of service we will do as his ambassadors! In John 14:26 Jesus tells his disciples, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
We have the Holy Spirit as our guide to help us through these very scenarios of doubt or fear when our good service comes into question!
What about when you have taken the next step, and you are talking about your faith in Jesus Christ? People know you go to church, and you pray for things. Maybe you have even prayed for someone at work. Awesome! Telling people more about what your hope is in is a very important part of the faith and work movement. Some people will never know about Jesus if they don’t hear about him at work! Let’s think about this in action.
You prayed in the morning before work to talk to a colleague about coming to church with you. They know about your faith, and you have prayed with them. You arrive at the office and suddenly, you worry they’ll be offended by your invitation or say no? What if they don’t talk with you anymore? In that moment of anxiety and doubt, turn to the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:19-20 (ESV):
When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Stop and pray: Holy Spirit, guide my words!
One piece of advice I continually give my children is the answer will always be no unless you ask the question! Be bold for Jesus knowing he sent you a helper—the Holy Spirit.
One of the main reasons for the persecution of Jesus and his disciples was jealousy. We see Jesus repeated interactions with the Pharisees throughout the Gospels. The pattern is predictable. Jesus performs a miracle or does something counter to what they believe, like eating with sinners or not fasting. The Scripture even tells us:
When the Pharisees saw this that asked his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? (Matthew 9:11)
The Pharisees went out to conspire against him, to try to destroy him (Matthew 12:14).
In Matthew 19: Some pharisees came to test him. They asked, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?
In Matthew 16 they even asked him for a sign!
They watched him closely seeking to find fault.
He notably does one of three things: he asks them a question in return, stays silent, or tells a parable for which they cannot ask another question or have an answer.
One of my favorite examples of this is in Matthew 22: 15-22. Appealing to Jesus, they say he doesn’t seem to be swayed by others because of who they are, so why pay taxes. After a back and forth, Jesus asks to see a coin and asks whose image was on it; it was Ceasars.
Jesus’ final reply was: Give to Ceasar what is Ceasars and give to God what is God’s (Matthew 22:21b).
Jesus doesn’t stop. He keeps pressing forward and is our greatest example of a servant or ambassador. And he was certainly unwelcome by the religious leaders of the time.
Jesus was not alone in his ministry. We know that he called the twelve disciples. We also learn that he sent them out two by two and gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits. But he also had some very practical advice about their service. First, not to accept anything in exchange for their services. And this:
And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them (Mark 6:11).
Shaking dust from one’s feet had much more cultural significance back in Jesus’ time; it was a reference to cleansing oneself from being among Gentiles. So, in this case, it was as if those who did not listen had no place with God.
This is different from doing it with gentleness and respect, as we learned from 1 Peter. Jesus basically instructs if they don’t like your serving, move on!
And I think that sometimes this is what Jesus would advise us today—not to give up, but sometimes we need to walk away and into the next best opportunity to be his ambassadors.
Remember, the disciples were boldly proclaiming the kingdom of Jesus and healing people. It was very radical! Perhaps some of the serving you do for work is radical. Maybe your primary vocation is as a missionary. Taking Jesus’ advice in this instance may be the safest and best way to continue your mission. However, most of us are serving our roles as ambassadors in traditional work environments, and we cannot easily just move on and shake the proverbial dust from our feet.
If you have shared your faith and it seems unwelcome, the advice in 1 Peter 3 reminds us to handle these situations with gentleness and respect. Remember the person you are speaking with about Jesus isn’t from God’s Kingdom. Ultimately, you are telling them to give up their current citizenship to come see something much better! If you are not handling this with gentleness and respect, you may be adding to the negative experience someone has had with others sharing about their faith which include:
- Experiencing hypocrisy. Someone who proclaims their faith but isn’t living out a faith at work 1.0! An example of this would be a colleague you know who attends church each week but proceeds to use choice language at work and gossip about others in the office. You understand why this would hinder someone.
- Societal norms are very loud! We live in a one-size-fits-one culture. With media in all formats, people are bombarded by a message that is not about Jesus most of the time.
- People at work are busy. People outside of work are busy. Adding what seems like another “thing” to their plate may feel overwhelming.
So, if you have shared faith, asked someone to church, and are rejected, what can you do? First, know you honored the Lord in your work as his ambassador! How you handle the rejection matters. Don’t just stop talking to this colleague but perhaps revert to the faith at work 1.0 actions! Simply being kind and showing up as a good colleague can overcome one of the obstacles noted above, which is hypocrisy. Think about this for a moment; you ask someone to church, they say no, and then you stop talking with them. That would not feel genuine, would it?
Let’s think about Jesus, the ultimate ambassador for the kingdom. He asked questions and sometimes stayed quiet and also told stories.
What are some questions you might ask colleagues about their faith? Maybe you start with simply asking what they are doing on the weekend and responding by sharing your plans which include church!
If someone is talking about something that is counter to what you believe as a follower of Jesus and you don’t know what to say, maybe you stay quiet. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in these situations to be able to stand firm in your faith.
Maybe you have an opportunity to share your testimony. Each of us has a different story of how we came to know Jesus and many stories thereafter of our sanctification. These mountains and valleys in our lives as followers of Jesus can often be helpful stories to tell our colleagues. Both our joy and our sorrow can show our testimony to others and what our faith rests in!
We may not always be welcomed ambassadors in this world, but we are called to be God’s ambassadors in Christ Jesus right where we are at work! Take courage from Scripture and the power bestowed on you through Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit.
